High-capacity spring



June 5; EQZE.

EAE'ZQEH J. F. O'CONNOR HIGH CAPACITY SPRING Filed Jan* 5l, 1921 Iig] 2 lllinlm if if,

JOHN r. oceanen, or'cHicAGo, rumors, nssrsnon 1ro WiLLIAM n. annua, or

CHAZY, NEW YORK.

HIGH-'CAPACITY SPRING.

Application ied January 31, 1921. Serial No. 441,128.

as for instance, railway draft riggings, it is the general practice to employ either s alone or 1n combination with friction creaty 'ing elements, a heavy spring.y Heretofore, s

these springs, which are made of relatively large diameter rods, have been formed at 26 -their ends with vso-called tapered iianges in order to provide fiat bearing seats `at the (ends ofthe spring. In manufacturing such springs, it is first necessary the rod before coiling be hammered or forged to provide the tapered tangs vand in zceiling the rods, lthe forward ends must .first ,be :clamped in proper position and the rear lends of the rods held :by tongs in the hands ofA the.Y operator who is required to exert 301 great strength in l`preventing the `rods from twisting to insure that the rear tang retains lrits proper positionA in the finished coiled spring.. ,Experience has shown that much waste is entailed in :manufacturing springs of thischaracter due to the hu-manelement .entering into the coiling thereof, the operators frequently lbecoming fatigued after a yfew-hours` workv and unable to maintain ythe yposition of the rear tang with the result that Amany of the coils must either be yrejected-or subsequently ground to `rprovide the flat bearings. 1 s

It is also a well known fact that in the :ordinary .helically coiled spring, the capacity lof a spring having a plurality of con- -tinuous coils is Ino V,greater than that .of a .single turn or co-il of 360, assuming the :same diameters of rods, same pitch andsame diameters of the coils. Where such springs 5o vof multiple continuous coils .are employed in a friction draft gear, for instance, the totalcapacity of thev spring provides only a relatively small proportion of the total that lthe ends 1of capacity of the friction rdraft gear, the major portion of the capacity being lnecessarily imposed upon thermore, where such springs are employed without friction elements in draft gears, the capacities are limited because ofthe small space allowed for the draftv ygearson railway cars.

One object of my invention 4is to provide a spring of high capacity, suitable for use either alone or yin combination with friction lelements in 1draft gears or the like wherein the total capacity of the spring is several times that of a continuous helically coiled spring of similar material, same diameter rod and same coil diameter, the ar-y rangement being also such that the total movement or compression stroke vof the spring may be made two'or more times -that ofthe :movement of an individual rcoil.

More specifically, the lobject of my yinvention is to provide a higlrcapacity spring comp'osedof a pluralityof independent single turn coils, each having squared off ends and Vwherein the total capacity is a lmulti-ple of the capacity of each individual coil.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, I have illustrated my v.improvelments in connection with a railway/:draft rigging and in said drawing, ,Figure 1 is a horizontal, longitudinal, sectional view .of a portion of arailway draft rigging showing my improvements in connection therewith, all ofthe parts being shown in normal or full release position. Figure 2 isa vertical, transverse, sectional view corresponding substantiallyto the line 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an elevational view of one of the coil `units ofthe outer spring illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. And Figure l .isan elevational view of a unit of the smaller `nested spring illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

' vIn, said drawing, 10-10 denote channel center or-draft sills of a railway car tothe inner faces of which aresecured front-stop lugs '11-11 and rear stop lugs 12--12` The inner or rear portion of a drawbar is indicated at 13, the

latter being operatively asthe friction elements. Fur-v socia'ted with the shock absorbing mechanism proper by means of ahoodedscastyoke klll andcouplerkey 15. .As customary in the I employ a front main draft rigging art,

a rear :main follower 16 follower 115 and 25`f "-*m'adewith v'righthan'ded turns and the units p D with `'lefthanded turns, the units C being: 1 alternated with the units '.D. Eachof the' j lowers "and `spring are adapted, to' be supported inl operativepositionhy means. ofva detachable saddle plate 17 secured to the lower ,flangesiof-thedraft sills. ,g

In carryingk out my invention,jI prefer-` ably vemploy an outer series4 ofpunits and an inner nestedklighter series of units.r` In the embodiment shown, in the outer series I employ four units, twofof which are referenced vA-v-A and two of which are refereno'e'd B-`-B.` In the inner series I employ seven junits, four ofwhichj are'referenced made ofthe 'same diameter rod, same pitch and' same coil diameter but the' two units .A-A are coiled righthanded andthe two units lB are coiled lefthanded, lthe units A 'beingalternated withl the units B.k In the case of the" inner series, `the units C and- "D vareI alsoof like pitch, like' Acoil diameter and-like rod diameter but thejunits C are units A and Bv extends thru van arc 'of approxima'tely 860o and the ends thereof are formed or sawed olf vsquare or'perpendicu?v lar ,to 'the' axis ofthe rod as' indicatedl at` "1S-18. The same is true f' steeper than', that of the outercoil unitsqlso' that the offset, axially, ofthe `endsof each inner unit will yapproximately equal the offset of the'v ends of" each outer unit `whereby jthe compressionstroke willbe the same 'for hating the coil units :left and right like,V the units A, B, A, B, 4 'ihelixfjofthe first coil is' disposed ap-l as shown, the

fprox'imately yparallel to that of the third ""'ooil-v and the y,helix of "theseoond ycoill isv andthe 'capacity of eachset'of coils A, B,

l' y Willbetwice that of "a single coil, and the "*ytliatf of a, single" `coil vuni-t while the capacity y'movementobtained will be equal toV that of a single' coil, while the movement obtained in the two setsv of coils A, B`,'willbe twice willifemai'n` the same, twice that'of a single "j coilz' 1'Bythusfarranging the coilsv forming 4the spring, I am enabled to obtain a capacity equal to oubley that ofeach coil usedl and a total movement equaly to approximately twice v#that of each unit. `By employing threesets, i.- e.,six units A -and, B, three yof each kind andfa'rranged as shown lin VFigure '1,"the,

capacitywould remain the same but the C--C and threeof vwhich are"referenced' ,l ,j f y y "I now-consider't'liel preferred 'Each of the coil unitsA is preferably` v l y of the ends 19--19l iof'each of theinner units.

inV abutting relation l formed with an vinwardly extended lug 20 over which the end units of the inner series are' seated and an outer cylindrical casing or tube Qlis preferably slipped fover'the outer series, the length of said casing 2l being less than the normal distance between the followers l5 'and 16 in orderfto permit of the necessary movement thereof. i 1

I have herein shown and described "what carrying'outthe invention, but thesame is f merely' illustrative and; I contemplatey all changes and modificationsv that comewithin the soopeof the claims appendedv hereto.

Iclaim:l

- jl: In a-high-capacity shock absorbing springvconsisting of'a" plurality of like' coil units arrangedgin abutting, relation, fsaid units beingboth right'v and` left, each coil extending'through an larc of 3600. 1

2 A" high Capacity shock:Y abstraite? plurality of separate,

spring, consisting of' a` individual, both fright and left helical coils, adjacent coils being arranged in abutting relation', eachcoil comprising a cylindrical,

spirally woundv rod'extending through an` arc of `360", the ends of each 'coilbeing A, 'I formed'flat-in a plane perpendicular tothe The pitch of the inner 'coil units is made individual both right and kleft helical coils arranged in-abutting relation, said coils being substantially yidentical lin cross ysection and size, each coil extending through an-'aro approximately 360?, the right and leftff of coils being alternated.

4. A high "capacity spring," consisting of av` individual both right "shock absorbing lplurality of separate, land left helical coils,

adjacent i coils *being` arranged in 1 axially aligned and abutting relation, keach 'coilex 'manner of v tending through an are' offapproximately y 360, and subject to torsion,V the right "and left coils being alternated, the ends "of each ooilbeing formed flat in a planeperpendicu" -lar'to the axis of the coil forming rod'.

5: A high capacity shock absorbing spring consistingof a plurality of separate,

individual, helical coils ofthe same ,diameter andvcross section, the helixes of somel ofis'aidy coils being of opposite -pitchftothat-'off the` disposed axially 2 remainder, said coils being Y, each coil-extending through an are of 360.- l, i 6. A high capacity shook spring consisting of telescopeld-spring units,

i absorbing each unit composed of a plurality'ofseparate, individual helical coils, the helixes of some of the coils of :each unit being of opposite pitch to that of the remainder and the pitch of the coils of the inner unit being greater than the pitch of the coils of' the 5 outer unit, the coils of each unit being axially disposed in abutting relation, each' individual coil extending through an are of approximately 360.

ln Witness that I claim the foregoing I JOHNl F. OCONNOR.

Witnesses:

CARRIE. GAILING, UNA C. PEKIN. 

